Endings and Beginnings
by Mirsa
Summary: AU one-shot Kagome has been stuck in her own time for years, but a familiar dog demon has managed to get through. Who are these strange children, why do they seem so familiar, and what is that thing that's coming out of the old well house?


"C'mon Mika! Is that the best you can do?!"

The girl growled good-naturedly as she pulled her sword out of the scabbard strapped to her back. The boy facing her held a long, unsanded stick tied and wrapped with red cloth, and he swung the end in a circle, trying to draw her attention away from his real attack. The girl's long silver hair was pulled back into a heavy ponytail braid, and it swung behind her back like a thick, glistening snake growing out of her head. Golden eyes glittered with friendly competition, and the elegant ivory claws that replaced fingernails flashed as she shifted her grip on the sword's hilt. The boy grinned, his pointed fangs barring in a brotherly threat, and he pulled the stick's end back, holding the staff again in both hands. The pair circled, carefully placing one foot after the other in the patterns they'd been taught.

Suddenly, Mika yelled and raised her sword above her head

_KAKUMEI!_ The thin samurai blade was enveloped in a flash of black-purple light, staring at the base of the hilt and traveling to the tip. Slowly she brought the blade back down in front of her, transformed into something else – a demon's sword. The hilt's wrapping was frayed and broken in places, used many times. Purplish fur covered the guard, surrounding the base of the now huge blade, wider than Mika's head and pulsing with purple-blue power. She held it in both hands now, head lowered menacingly as she stared at her opponent.

High above them, perched in the upper branches of the God Tree, another figure was witnessing the encounter. Silvery white hair blew gently in the wind; a pair of white dog ears twitched at the sounds of battle below. Hard golden eyes glittered as they peered down between the branches, watching the two teenagers sparring on the ground. Red robes hid his hands, clawed as the girl's were save the figure was the one who'd boasted them first. Inuyasha glared down at the two intruders, trying to figure out exactly _who they were_ and _why they were at the shrine_! His sharp hanyou eyes noted the girl's costume, similar to a miko's … _similar to her mother's_; cream-colored, loose-fitting pants, red shoes, a loose, red kimono-style top with the large cream-colored angel sleeves coming out of it, thick red ribbon threaded through the cuffs and tied with drooping bows at the bottom.

i_Yes, she is definitely her mother's child._ The boy, however, was wearing white and purple. His loose samurai pants flowed fluidly as he moved; the shirt had three purple slashes across the ribs on both sides and the trim was purple, and his loose sleeves nearly hid his hands from view. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed as he recognized the style.

_Sesshoumaru…_ he growled deep in his throat, murderous thoughts on his mind before his attention was broken by a blinding flash of light. He looked to his right, at the small shed set up off the ground a bit. Below him, the two teenagers also stopped their attacks and turned to see what was happening. The small building that housed the Well was glowing, light piercing between the ancient, rotting boards. Mika was the first to move; she slowly took a step foreword, towards the glowing structure.

"What are you doing?!" she heard Ryo's voice hiss behind her, but she merely twitched her delicately pointed ears and kept moving. One step, another, still closer she drew to the strange light. She reached out her hand; it looked like she was moving in slow motion as her fingertips brushed the sliding door's handle before an explosion of power flung her backwards into the courtyard. She flipped in the air, landing on her feet and brandishing the Kakume in front of her menacingly as she clenched her jaw, waiting for something to happen. What came at them was something the pair would never have expected!

Another explosion of yellow light, and the pair had no defense against the large wolf that leapt at them from the blinding stuff. Mika had enough sense to swing the Kakumei around in a full circle, keeping the wolf away from her but driving it towards the boy who'd let one hand off the stick to shield his eyes. The wolf grinned, exposing dripping fangs as he leapt to the boy's unprotected throat. By sheer luck the boy raised his staff at the perfect moment and whacked the creature in the throat, throwing it off balance and tumbling head over tail into the God Tree. The force of impact shook the ground, throwing the two off-balance and stumbling to the earth. The light was gone, and Mika looked up as the monster howled fiercely and leapt again. The girl's self-preservation instinct kicked in and she threw up her hands, unconsciously brandishing the Kakumei. The wolf balked at sight of the blade, but it couldn't stop in mid-leap and met the attack head-on. Actually, it met it in half, for the blade severed the creature's entire body in two pieces that dropped to the ground and lay steaming with a foul, acrid black smoke.

"Mika! Ryo!" they heard the woman's voice before they saw her burst out of the house. High above, still perched intently in the tree's massive branches, Inuyasha's face softened at sight of the black-haired girl running from the main house. She hadn't changed much in the past few years; filled out a little, she was a little more … curved than he remembered the 17-year old being before, but that was about it. She still moved the same, her face hadn't changed …

_Neither has her scent. She still smells the same. Kagome._ He pulled his hands out of his robe, holding onto the samurai blade attached to his waist with one as he stood, and began silently leaping down from branch to branch, watching the woman interact with the two teenagers on the ground.

"We're fine, Mom." Kagome's face was worried as she surveyed her two teenage children, and spotted the wolf carcass behind them, still steaming. Her face paled; she recognized the creature. Her children noticed the look, and silently moved aside so she'd have a clear path to the animal's body. Kneeling beside the canine's head, Kagome gently stroked the massive head, eyes wide and glazed, tongue lolling out of its muscled jowls.

"Koga." Kagome whispered, closing her eyes as several old, dear memories flickered through her mind. Mika stood still behind her, Kakumei's blade resting on the ground, its power pulsing only slightly now. Ryo glanced at his sister's cold, closed face, and just for the heck of it reached out his staff, gently prodding her in the ribs. Automatically she brought the huge blade to rest on her shoulder, a threat should he annoy her again.

"What happened?" Kagome's voice was choked as she asked the question, face hidden behind a veil of hair as she continued to stroke the creature's head.

"They behaved nobly." The two teenagers started, before pulling their weapons up to face the new-comer. Kagome did not look up; she didn't have to. She'd know that rough voice anywhere; she'd heard it for years as a teenager, and she thought she'd never hear it again when she returned to the modern age for the last time. Taking a deep breath, she patted the monster's head one last time before standing slowly, pushing her thick black hair behind her head and peering at the man standing before her. She ran her eyes over him, seeing everything about him that was familiar: the silvery hair that always fascinated her; the white dog ears she'd played with just to annoy him; the red robes he's protected her with whether it was a monster or just the cold; his ivory claws that had left permanent marks in her upper arms when she'd brought him back from the darkness of full demon-hood brought on by the evil Princess of the Moon; and the sword …. the sword that had saved their lives countless times on their journeys in the Feudal Era of Japan's noble history. The blade hadn't changed in past years; he still held it like a dear friend, never letting it out of his possession or sight. He was still barefoot; she smiled at this.

_Of course. He is a dog after all. Of course he'd never wear shoes!_ Her eyes darted up to the half-demon's face as she felt his hard gaze on her. She looked into the golden eyes; eyes she'd stared into as a girl, love-struck and daydreaming of a future she might have with the half-demon. Shaking her head slowly, smiling to herself, Kagome let go of that thought, and stood strait, the two looking at each other.

"It's been a long time, Inuyasha." He nodded, unable to speak for seeing her again. But still, for all the things he wanted to say to her, his attention still shifted to the two teenagers behind her, still waiting to attack should he make one false move and he wondered if he'd be able to take the girl on with her sword so similar to his. Yet, there was something oddly familiar about that girl…

"Tell them to lower their weapons." His voice was harsh, concealing the emotions he felt welling up inside him. Kagome smiled her old smile, and turned halfway around.

"Mika, turn the Kakumei back into its other form. Ryo, don't pull the bow out. Don't worry, this is an old friend."

"From where?!" Mika wasn't obeying her mother. She was glaring at the strange man who'd invaded her home and family, and she wasn't about to let her guard down until she knew exactly who he was and where he came from!

"Mika, Ryo, this is Inuyasha. He's a hanyou, from the Feudal Era. Please, don't attack." Mika's eyes exploded as she stared in open shock at the half-demon's sarcastic smile and glittering eyes. They were so much like hers, it was uncanny! She dropped her sword to rest on the ground, unconsciously turning it back into the samurai blade of its powerless form. She was still staring at the hanyou.

_Can this be true? Is he really Inuyasha? Is he really… my father?_


End file.
